2 Photo Ideas To Improve Your Landscape Photography!

Here are two photo hints which will instantly raise your landscape photography - or some outdoor photos - to a whole new level. Use filters and rubber bands!

Photo Hint #1... Use filters in your photography!

Filters are an essential addition to any quality photo and they are used by most top shooters on virtually every shot!

With digital photography taking over the photo world, too many of us are using a point and shoot - camera on automatic - approach. We will fire away hundreds or even tens of thousands of shots in the hopes that we will get one great one, since there aren't any film development costs.

Too frequently, we don't. This procedure has drastically reduced the photography skill set during the past few years and it is going to get even worse.

Instead of learn to be excellent photographers, we are learning to be amazing at 'fixing' photos in Photoshop.

I have nothing against Photoshop, but it should be used as a 'tweak' in photography. Not a fix.

One of the 'tweaks' we will often use Photoshop to insert is the effect of filters.

If you simply need a color wash across the full image Photoshop is very good at that!

However there are a couple of filters where it's a good idea to have them on your own lens rather than attempt to add the effect afterwards. You may spend hundreds of hours on each and every photo striving to add them.

UV filters, polarizers and neutral density filters.

These filters are a MUST HAVE for any camera bag! The UV filter will help safeguard your lens from scratches, etc. and can be removed before shooting if you want the sharpest images. Polarizers, give us far better heavens, and remove glare from shiny objects. It's difficult to imagine shooting an outdoor photo without one. And we are given increased control over shutter speed and so on by neutral density filters.

The most effective shooters wouldn't dream of not having these filters in their camera bag. But occasionally there can be a problem.

Photo Tip #2... Keep A Rubber Band Convenient!

If you are employing filters that screw onto the front of your lens - sooner or later you will run into the issue of wanting to remove it, but nevertheless, it won't unscrew. It is stuck!

Here's what you do...

Take a rubber band and wrap it around the filter. This will provide you with enough grasp to get it started turning.

Where to keep your rubber band?

You can keep one in your camera bag so it's always easy, but here is an even better option - wrap it around your wallet! Or do both.

Should you maintain your wallet in your own pocket, wrapping a rubber band around it makes it practically impossible for a pick pocket to get the wallet out of your pocket! Try it; you'll see what I mean!

There is less protection, should you maintain your wallet in a purse, but it still makes it harder to get the wallet out of your bag surreptitiously.

These two simple suggestions - use filters in your photography and keep a rubber band handy in case you can not get the filter off - are only a couple more ways to take your outside, landscape photography to a whole new level. To learn more, take a look at the resources carton!